Monday, May 16, 2011

Brazil Part 1

Perhaps it's my skin tone. Or maybe the fact that I've recently done the Brazilian Blowout treatment to my hair. Whatever the case, these folks think I'm Brazilian. They speak to me so quickly in Portuguese that it makes my head spin. And the best I can do is smile and disappoint them. Only English,I say,… and maybe some spanish that I throw out in hopes that it happens to be the similar words they have in their language.

When I got to the competition site to compete, however, everyone knew that I was the American. My event consisted of 8 competitors, 7 of them from the home country, including the most recent Olympic Champion. The crowd was loud, energetic, and full of energy… until it was my turn to jump. Then it was crickets. I was so sure that my top two competitors were jumping world record distances because the crowd erupted in cheers every time they finished a fair jump, that I just knew there was a mistake when after the first three jumps the lady tried to tell me, in portuguese, that I would be jumping last. Last means you have the furthest jump so far in the competition, so I must've misunderstood her words mixed with hand signals. But I looked at the sheet and confirmed it. Sweet, I was winning.

I furthered my lead in the 5th round with a jump of 6.74 and continued to funnel the energy my way, even though I knew it wasn't meant for me. The truth of the matter is though, I sort of enjoy the role of the underdog. I knew I was ready to jump well, but I certainly didn't have any pressure from people assuming I was supposed to win. Not to mention it was a nice change that the entire crowd to stay and see the end of our competition even after all the running events were through because we had the crowd favorite competing and they were paying attention. We were the main show and not a side show that was quickly forgotten once the last race passed the finish line. Imagine that.

I have two more long jump competitions while I'm out here, and while I know I won't be the crowd favorite, I look forward to competing in the crowd's favorite event.

Ms. Glenn,The official IAAF website has you as a lead (along with Mutua) with their blurb on Belem. Along with a big feature picture of you (showing off those abs again, lol).6.74! Keep it up, looking good!

WOW didn't know it was that much on the LJ video. That has to be one of the longest video clips of a LJ competition I've seen. Thank you Brazil. I was able to see my two favorite jumpers, Glenn and Costa.

Ya, I saw that shot too. Froze the video for a moment to have a closer look. Looked a little flabby to me. ha ha. Further anal-lization and evidence is required! :)!! Rio is coming up, perhaps some beach time after the meet will happen? :)!!

I'd venture to say that I am doing my job very well as your mental coach!

Ok, so good going! We have broken through the wall. The seas have parted and you are across the river. The clouds have cleared, the sun is shining. Clarity is upon you and you can see for miles and miles ahead with great focus.

Consistency, finally across the river and not just a good professional jumper, now you are one of the all time great jumpers!

Don't change anything. Keep the same mental approach, same physical approach. You are finally relaxing and letting it happen. Keep your new found habits and approach. Don't relax and slip back into bad habits. Those have been left behind now on the other side of the river.

My god, isn't it fun now? This is the greatest time for a professional athlete, when you are in the zone. Everything comes together, mental, physical, and all the hard work pays off.

Meets are won in practice, not at the meet!

Duplicate the approach of the last 3 meets and keep it rolling. Let it happen now. Your body and mind don't have to push as they know what to do. They finally have learned how to work together.

About Me

This blog is about me. My life, athletic career, friends, family, dating life, adventures, travels, musings, and anything else I feel compelled to share. My life is sometimes fabulous and sometimes not but it's mine and I wouldn't change a thing.